Fuel Tank amd other assorted issues.

[Supershooter]

After purchasing a non runner, i've decided to start by getting the fuel system in shape first. After removing the fuel cap, it appears that the inside of the tank is clean with a small amount of rust flakes from the fuel pump leads and other fasteners. With this being said, I'm trying to discern what the best way to clean out the tank is...wet/dry shop vac?....remove and try to pour it out...?
I'm up for a little advice at this point.
Supershooter

[Filmcamera]

Myself and others have had good success using white vinegar to clean the tank. Take out the filter, pump, fuel level sensor and the rest of the gubbins first. Add 2-3 gallons of white vinegar and leave it for three or four days.  After that empty the vinegar out and scrub inside the tank with a brillo pad or similar.   Finally a really good blast with a pressure washer and you should be good to go.  Leave the tank out for three days or so to dry before adding fuel and you should be good to go. The toughest bit is often the rubber damper around the fuel pump that tends to melt or disintegrate but a good scrubbing will normally deal with it.



Good luck!

[The Mighty Gryphon]

Pull the fuel pump, filter, and fuel lines.   Personally I would leave the fuel level sender alone.  Depending on how rusty the sender looks I would decide if the tank needs to be cleaned with the vinegar soak.  If it looks pretty bad I'd dump a gallon of white vinegar in and let it soak for 24 hours.  Dump and follow with gallon of hot water with a shot of Dawn dish detergent.  Slosh that around, dump and rinse twice with clean, hot water.  Wide dry with paper towels and set aside to completely dry for a couple days.  Check the lower parts of the tank for holes or bubbling paint caused by corrosion. 

Bench test the fuel pump with 12V to see if it runs.  Make sure the screen filter for the pump has no tears or clogging.   Check the rubber damper for deterioration and replace if necessary.  Replace the in-line fuel filter and hoses.  A NAPA 3032 is an excellent filter.  Fuel lines MUST be suitable for immersion in fuel.   

[Scud]

Congratulations on the new project. Good idea to start with the fuel system - and you've got good advice already. Please don't use a vacuum cleaner in the gas tank. But if you do, have someone video it from a safe distance so the explosion doesn't damage the camera.  :yow

[Chaos]

. Please don't use a vacuum cleaner in the gas tank. But if you do, have someone video it from a safe distance so the explosion doesn't damage the camera.  :yow

better yet live stream it and let us know when 

[Supershooter]

After the haze of the brain fart cleared, I've decided to wait on using the shop vac to clean out the tank. Unfortunately the explosion will be postponed to a different location and unknowing mechanic, at a later date.
So as always we'll fix things the hard way and do it the right way.


Safety First!


Supershooter

[cbrazbox]

Good advice so far, any of those will work. I'll just add that I've personally had the best results with Evapo-rust. Very effective, safe on rubber/plastic, no flash rusting, and a little less hassle than my attempts with vinegar. It's not quite vinegar cheap... but it's close, and most auto/hardware stores, and even Wal Mart, seem to carry it. When you're done just pour it back into the container and save it for next time.


As Mighty Gryphon said, avoid messing with the fuel level sender if you can, and be careful with it if for some reason you do take it apart. Not only the arm, but if you twist/crack the wiring cap there's a good chance you'll find a puddle of gas under the bike, and/or soaking the ECU/battery the next day. Plus the gasket "must be replaced" every time you open it... Don't ask me how I learned all this.


And sure... on the one hand, gas fumes and vacuums don't go well together, "allegedly"... but on the other hand, they do say these bikes are bomb-proof... :2thumbup:

[Supershooter]

I used a siphon to remove most of the fuel out of the tank along with some other junk. Ultimately I cant reach the whole inside of the tank. The vibration dampener left a residue in the tank. The pump didn't run, so I replaced the pump, dampener, filter, and screen. Underneath the pump assembly I found a bunch of granular sediment that I can get out but it's almost impossible to reach from the top of the tank.


I don't have any rust on the inside of the tank. So I'm wondering what I should do to clean out the sediment that remains at this point?


Vinegar or mineral spirits?


Supershooter

[Chaos]

take the tank off the bike if you haven't already.  Use whatever removes the residue then just hose it out, leave it in the sun to dry out. 

[Laitch]

so I replaced the . . . dampener,
Vinegar . . . ?

It's a damper—not dampener, Supershooter. Dampener is another word for buzzkill.

Vinegar. There's been enough written on this site about its use for cleaning tanks, and enough used for the purpose, in the last three months by readers that plans are being set for vegetable crops to be abandoned next season just to plant more grain for fermentation to meet our needs. Buy some while the price is still low.

[jakgieger]

Why are people afraid of acetone???, 50/50 with hot water worked great for me (40+ year dealer advised usage).  It even cleaned the "melted" rubber from the damper .  Just wear good gloves...

[Laitch]

Why are people afraid of acetone???,

Is it cheaper than vinegar, jack?

[Chaos]

+1 on acetone.  I keep a squirt bottle of it handy to clean tape residue, grease, mix it with autotrannyoil and it's a great nut loosener.

[jakgieger]

Is it cheaper than vinegar, jack?

I would say marginally no, but,  I think there is a strong case for superior efficacy on the surfaces involved.  I have not used vinegar, BUT, why would I experiment when I have superior results :deal: .  Typically this process is a "one and done".  On the other hand, if my vocation was the reconditioning of BMW gas tanks, I believe further investigations would be necessitated!   :hehehe

[Rcgreaves]

Note to self find reliable squirt bottle for acetone spray use.   :clap:   I used Krud Kutter on a GL1000 rusty tank with shiny silver seemingly miraculous results...My wife would buy vinegar in 5 gallon volume for a miriad of household jobs if the option existed..

[The Mighty Gryphon]

Acetone or vinegar?  I think it depends on what you are dealing with. 

If it is the corrosion of steel parts from water separation then I would definitely go for white vinegar which is just acetic acid.  It will strip the rust from steel quite efficiently.

On the other hand, if I wanted to remove the varnish from the breakdown of the hydrocarbon molecules in the fuel, then a strong hydrocarbon solvent like acetone is the best choice. 

Acetone has two main drawbacks, first, because it is very close to alcohol, is that it is very flammable with a low flash point.  Second is that at full strength it is cabable of damaging paint and plastic parts if not cleaned up immediately.

Vinegar is more benign at full strength, but is still capable of removing the plating on metal parts, exposing them to corrosion.   It is a great treatment for preparing rusted steel partts for paint. 

[Chaos]

Note to self find reliable squirt bottle for acetone spray use.   :clap:

It's really embarrassing how much crap I have from HF.  I keep acetone in one, MMO in another, isopropyl in another, one with acetone and transmission oil.  Handy and have not dissolved on me.

[Vespa no more]

Enough has been said on the vinegar and acetone. No comment from me - except do a search on cleaning the tank on this forum.


Been there done that... successfully.


Keep the fuel pump... soak in vinegar and it may well work again.... think I remember someone saying to alternate the power to each of the poles on the fuel pump (to reverse the direction of the motor in the pump to free it up)


Fuel line needs to be "submersible" - resistant to fuel both on the inside and outside.


Alarm bells have been rung on vacuuming out the fuel tank ... don't until AFTER the soak and flush with water.


Good luck on it all ... basically these bikes are well engineered and fixable and you can buy replacements easily enough.

Keep the posts coming. We're all up for running commentary on each other's bikes.


But do the searches / research first - most of the issues have been dealt with by others.


As Martin says... "welcome to the asylum"


Regards

Guy

[Supershooter]

Progress is being made slowly. I used some HCl and water to clean the tank, afterward I rinsed with a baking soda water solution and let it dry. Everything seemed to go well.

[Laitch]

Why did you chose HCl rather than the vinegar or acetone that was recommended in this thread?

[Supershooter]

Why did you chose HCl rather than the vinegar or acetone that was recommended in this thread?

I was talking with my Dad over the holiday weekend and he said he had some HCl in his shop and didn't have a use for it, so it was about availablity. I value the advice and would have probably used acetone if Dad wouldn't have had the Muriatic Acid.


Supershooter